The SaberCats are breaking down on the drive to the Arena Football League playoffs — and if they can’t get things jump-started soon, they’re going to miss them for the second straight season.

A disastrous first half gave way to an even more deflating second half and a season-worst seven turnovers doomed the Cats on Saturday night in a 90-63 loss to the Spokane Shock at HP Pavilion. The loss was the SaberCats’ second in a row and fourth in their past six games.

San Jose (9-6) has missed the postseason just three times in its 16-year history, and has never done so in consecutive seasons. But Saturday’s loss dropped the Cats into third place in the AFL’s West Division, 2½ games behind first-place Arizona (11-3) and one behind Utah (10-5).

Up next is Chicago (9-5), which holds the National Conference’s final playoff spot, making Saturday’s game a must-win if the SaberCats hope to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Quarterback Mark Grieb provided one of the few bright spots for the SaberCats by throwing his 900th career touchdown pass at the end of the first half. Grieb became just the third quarterback in AFL history to reach the milestone, joining Aaron Garcia and Clint Dolezel.

It mattered little, though, on a night when the Cats’ defense surrendered the most points in franchise history — almost a year to the day after they gave up their previous worst total in an 82-21 loss at Cleveland.

Saturday’s final score would have been more of a blowout had the SaberCats’ Rodney Wright not returned a missed field goal 57 yards for a touchdown on the game’s final play.

The touchdown capped Wright’s first game with the Cats since he left the team after three games last season.

San Jose was unable to slow down Spokane’s Kyle Rowley, who threw 12 touchdown passes.

Grieb completed 25 of 40 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.

Samora Goodson had seven catches for 142 yards and one touchdown, and Fred Williams had seven catches for 102 yards and three TDs, including Grieb’s 900th.

San Jose struggled mightily in the first half, turning the ball over four times and surrendering 49 points. Only three of the SaberCats’ eight possessions before halftime ended in touchdowns, and four of them lasted three plays or less.

After De La Salle-Concord graduate Jackie Bates intercepted a pass on the game’s first play, the SaberCats fumbled the ball away on their first two possessions.

The Shock (8-6) turned both turnovers into touchdowns en route to taking a 14-0 lead that they never relinquished.

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